Natalie Appleby and her fiance know all too well the problems Annice Smoel faced - the Perth couple went through a similar ordeal last month.

While Mrs Smoel, a mother of four, is safely back in Melbourne after spending four nights in a Thai jail on charges of stealing a $50 bar mat, Ms Appleby still shivers at how her fiance suffered a similar - and much more expensive - fate.

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Michael managed to find an English-speaking detective in the jail and made a phone call to his worried fiance.

Her father went to see Michael, and things began to get worse.

"First of all they tried to charge him with stealing, but a Thai lady there said the shop he was accused of stealing from was actually closed," Ms Appleby said.

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"They then said they had made a mistake and charged him with damaging the roof of a house. There weren't any houses there, but they said it would cost $5000 for the charges to go away. They said if we talked to the Australian Consulate, (Michael) would be taken to the Bangkok Hilton (the notorious Thai jail, Bangkwang prison)."

After negotiating with a detective - "he wanted the money in an envelope" - the family paid $3000 to have the charges dropped. Ms Smoel pleaded guilty to her charges - in order to leave Thailand - was fined $38 and placed on a good behaviour bond.

"(The detective) told us everything would be sweet and to enjoy the rest of our holiday," Ms Appleby said.

"We could've done like (Mrs Smoel) and fought the charges but he would've been there for quite a few more days. Michael was obviously petrified. There were big, big grey patches in what they were charging him with."

Michael left Thailand for Perth almost immediately. Ms Appleby suspected his drink had been spiked, and said the incidents were a warning for Australians visiting the tourist mecca.

"People need to know to watch out. You need to be with friends and they need to be watching out for each other," she said.

"You have to be careful of having a big night. It's a shame. I don't want to say don't go there, because it can be good, but maybe the bad publicity will make them clean up their act. People there say this sort of thing is happening all the time and Thai prostitutes will drop drugs into Westerners drinks."